


And In These Winds We Stand Ever Strong

by Eternal Scribe (Shadowcat)



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 11:51:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17425358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowcat/pseuds/Eternal%20Scribe
Summary: What if the story had actually gone a different way than the tale that was circulating the galaxy? What if someone had not fallen, but had instead risen?





	And In These Winds We Stand Ever Strong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Settiai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/gifts).



> This was a story that had been in my brain for quite some time and I am still not sure I did it the justice that I wanted to in able to match the images in my brain I wanted to give to you!

When word had reached her about the death of her cherished friend and companion, the grief had almost sent her to her knees. It had not, but it had been a very near thing. She stayed stoic and pretended calmness as she went about her duties as the queen of her people, but it was difficult. It was difficult because all she wanted to do was withdraw to her own quarters and give in to her sorrow. However, her people deserved better from her and she would not fail them just because her heart was breaking. The one thing that gave her the strength to get through that horrible day was the knowledge that her beloved husband was still safe and very much alive. He had been the one to send her the news, knowing she would not have been able to accept it coming from any other. He advised her of his condition and let her know that he would be home soon and would need to spend some time alone with her in their own private retreat. There were messages between his words, but she had to admit that her shock and grief made it hard for her to decipher them.

Four days later, she wished that she had tried harder to puzzle out the coded message as her beloved husband arrived, and at his side, a figure dressed completely in gray. They were draped in long ropes and a gray veil covered their head and face entirely. Her husband carried what looked to be a basket and his companion stayed close so that the basket was shielded between the two of them. Reading the message in his eyes, she dismissed the members of the court who had gathered to welcome their lord home. She also dismissed her attendants, knowing that she would not need them this night when there was much to discuss between her and her husband. When he beckoned his companion to come with them, she was curious but not upset. It was obvious that her husband wanted to have privacy for the news he was going fill her in on -- including what had happened to her friend some days past. If he felt that his newest companion needed to be with them while they talked, then she was content with that. He always had his reasons and his instincts and actions had never let them down or caused her alarm.

She was not expecting her husband to lift a baby out of the basket he had been holding and she definitely had not expected him to place the little one into her arms. It was a tiny little girl and as she stared down into her eyes, her own filled with tears. "Such a tiny little thing. She is Padme's, is she not?"

Bail nodded, stroking the baby's face with his finger. "Her true name is Leia Amidala, but for the world to see, from now on she must be known as Leia Organa."

Breha blinked her eyes, trying to keep her tears back, but the fresh wave of grief that hit her was far too strong. Tears slid down her cheeks, even as she smiled down at the baby in her arms. "I'll keep her safe. I will be as a mother to her and will never let my dearest Padme down by letting anything happen to her daughter. As she grows, I will tell her stories of her brave and beautiful mother and make sure she knows that Padme loved her so very much." Breha swallowed. "What happened, Bail -- and I want the true story. Not the spin that the Senate and the planets that make up the Senate will be told, but the full and honest truth. I will not have this hidden from me."

Bail sighed, and then shook his head. "I am still in shock over everything that I have borne witness to, my beloved Queen. However, the truth of the matter is that it was Anakin who felled our Padme."

Breha gasped, her eyes widening with horror as she looked up to meet Bail's eyes. "But... but why? He loved her and she him. It was their love that made it necessary for us to retreat back to the strength of friends and fellow Queens and Senators again. His love for her that allowed him to face so many trials in his life because he wanted to be a good enough man and Jedi for her -- even though she constantly assured him that he was perfect for _her_ and that she didn't need him to change anything about himself."

"He was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and the darkness that we all saw rising up around the Senate and the planet leaders that did not find usefulness in peace and equality. He was made to believe that she betrayed him."

"What? Padme Amidala never betrayed anyone in her far too short life. She was good and honorable and made hard decisions at great cost to herself so that others would be safe and free from fear." She clenched her jaw, her eyes full of fire as she met those of her husband again. "I will tear him apart with my bare hands if I ever get near enough to see him again."

Bail shook his head, placing one of her hands between both of his. "No, my love, no. You must not go anywhere near him and you also must never threaten him in public right now. We cannot do anything that might attract his attention and give him cause to come here to us on Alderaan. We have to think of Leia's safety first."

"I will never do anything to endanger Leia," Breha said softly. "But he robbed her of her true mother. He robbed me of someone I loved so very dearly. Why is he permitted to get away with that and breathe so easily when he has destroyed so much?"

"Because it is not just Leia who needs a safe place to hide."

Breha froze, then lifted her head to see that the attendant that had accompanied her husband home had removed her veil and head covering. The eyes looking back at her with such sorrow were ones that she recognized as clearing as her own.

"Padme?!"

The other woman nodded, kneeling down in front of her and placing her hands on Beha's legs on either side of Leia. "Yes, though when we are outside these chambers, and I am veiled, I will be called Navei."

"But how? I was told you were killed." She gave Bail an accusing look. "You could not tell me the truth?"

"It was too dangerous, dear one," Padme explained. "We couldn't be sure that Palpatine did not have spies to intercept communications and we didn't want to do anything that could risk your safety."

"Anakin truly..."

"He thinks he did," Padme said quietly and Breha could see the grief in her eyes. "It was decided that it was better to let him and the rest of the galaxy believe that Padme and her children had been killed, That way there is no reason for him to look for me."

Breha extended her hand to lay it against Padme's cheek. "My dear, dear love. I am sorry that you have had to endure all of this."

"There is still good in him, I felt it, but I do not believe that it will last very long while he is under the control of Palpatine. The things he has done, even before what he did to me, I am not sure that there is any coming back from that. I want to believe that he can, but I will not risk the lives of people I love with only a belief."

"You said _children_?"

Padme nodded. "Leia has a twin brother, Luke. I sent him with Obi-Wan. He will keep him safe from his father and anyone else that might come searching. He took him back to Anakin's home planet, somewhere Anakin hates and would never think to pay too much attention to."

"I hate that they must be separated."

"Not for long, just until the memory of Padme and her unfortunate children fade a little bit. Once that happens, we can arrange visits and meetings and all will be well."

Breha sighed, closing her eyes. "I am happy to hear that Obi-Wan survived. I was so very worried when we started receiving reports of the purges and massacres of the Jedi that were happening throughout the system. I still don't understand how he could be a part of such a thing. he was so proud to be a Jedi."

"I'm not sure how much was him and how much was Palpatine's machinations," Padme said solemnly as she watched the grief cross Bail's face. "I know that he took part in at least one of the massacres because Bail was an unfortunate witness."

"The younglings," Bail said quietly. "Anakin led a force of troopers to the Jedi temple and they killed all of the children inside. I know some escaped, but I am not sure how or where they even are now."

Breha passed Leia to Padme and reached to comfort Bail, pulling him to her. "When time has passed and they are but memories, we search for them to make sure that they are safe and that they have what they need. I am sure that Obi-Wan would be willing to help us in that. We just must have patience and let the winds blow until they are not thought of by those that would cause them harm."

Padme nodded, setting the now sleeping Leia in the cradle that she had pulled out from where Bail had told her it could be found -- something that had been secreted away when it became too dangerous for Breha to try any longer for motherhood. Once Leia was bundled up, she reached out, tugging Breha to her feet so that she could hug her close.

"We are here now, home where we belong. The three of us can spend some time together, just being with each other until we have to face those changing winds." There was a gentle, but determined smile on her face as she pulled Breha -- and Bail -- to the bedroom. Leia would sleep for sometime and the cradle was close enough to the bedroom door that if she made any noise one of the three of them would instantly be at her side.

* * *

It was a good life that the three of them created for themselves and Leia. When a few years had passed, there were visits between Tatooine and Alderaan so that Leia and her brother, Luke, wouldn't be strangers. And if there were times that Breha and her ever loyal companion, Navei, were left to their own company with the twins while Obi-Wan and Bail disappeared with supplies, well, nothing needed to be said on that.

Just like nothing ever needed to be said when the royal household took on new wards and guards from far off places. After all, what threat could younglings be to anyone in the galaxy? Good that they were brought to Breha as she and Navei would be able to teach them manners and courtly graces.

You know, for those times that they weren't enjoying a childhood or were not being willing teachers to Leia and Luke -- and Leia's companion, Winter.

Over the years, Breha, Bail, and Padme's home was filled with love and laughter. Padme didn't dare go about outside the royal palace unveiled, but she convinced Breha that it was a small price to be paid so that she could be with those that she loved and her family. And love she did as there was no one in the galaxy happier or more in love than the three of them were. After all, as long as she was Navei, there was no reason that anyone would come looking for her. On Naboo, the fallen Padme had become a symbol of integrity and freedom, but they had stopped thinking of Padme as a person after her death. She was more symbol than person, and on Alderaan, she was able to be a _person_ even if she went by another name most of the time.

But, she was content. She had the love of her dear friends and a relationship that she never would have been left alone to have before Anakin turned on her. A relationship that made her smile even when she was feeling sad and one that never made her feel like she was alone. In fact, Breha always seemed to know when she was having a bout of melancholy and would always arrange things so that she could come to her when she sensed that.

And yet it was the twins that were the only ones outside the younglings that they had fetched to them that were said to be force sensitive or able to use the Force? If Padme were a woman prone to wagering on things, she would wager that her dearest friend and beloved had a bit of the Force within her.

But those were thoughts for another time as she stood up, turning to the window of their receiving rooms. A ship had entered their airspace and she couldn't help but smile. The smile grew even larger as Breha slipped her hand into hers. Their last parting had been far too long ago and the two of them were anxious to see him.

Bail Organa had returned home.


End file.
